Brave Bird
by HardWrapping
Summary: There's Grim and Robots everywhere, the place is total chaos. Cardin Winchester is terrified. He's got no idea what to do. Luckily a certain drunken Scythe wielder comes along to give him some 'encouragement'.
1. The Flock Descends

"What do we do boss?"

Cardin was nervous. In fact, he wasn't ashamed to say he was downright scared. The city was being ravaged by Grim. They were everywhere. And what was worst, was that Ironwood's army started turning on them as well. It was completely and utter chaos. Hunters and citizens alike were dying, he'd seen the bodies.

Somehow he and the rest of team CRDL managed to find shelter inside a local bookstore after the attack started. They killed a few Grim on the way here, but once the army started turning, they took cover and hid. How the Grim hadn't seemed to detect his fear was beyond him, but he didn't question it. He just thanked Oum they were safe for now. "Boss! What do we do?!"

He looked over at Russel who had a panicked look on his face. Dove and Sky looked just as nervous. Cardin scowled. "I… I don't know." He said balling his fist up. He knew he should have been out there, been fighting with the other hunters. He'd seen the others students run off towards the school. But… there were so many. How could they possibly win?

Cardin grit his teeth. "I think we should just stay-"

A loud crash suddenly interrupted him. They all looked over and saw a Grim being slammed against the wall. An Alpha Beowolf. Cardin froze for moment, but then reached down and grabbed the handle of his mace. The others pulled out their weapons as well. The Beowolf got up and growled, shaking the dust from it's head.

It turned towards them, and then growled loudly. "B-Boss!" Sky said pointing up his halberd. "How to we handle this thing boss?!" He asked worriedly.

Cardin gripped the mace tightly. This should have been easy. It was four on one. So why was he so terrified. Why couldn't he just smash this things head in and be on his way. "Boss!" Russel yelled. "Boss, what's out next move?!"

"Cardin!" Dove shouted. "Dude, do something! Are we fighting or running, I'm fine with either!"

The Beowolf began running towards them, and Cardin felt his heart leap into his throat. This sucked. This was even worse than the time with the Ursa. At least then he tried to defend himself. Right now he was so scared he couldn't even move. The others realized their leader wasn't going to move, and ran to intercept.

"Boss!"

"Cardin!

"Look out!"

Just was the Beowolf was about to slash down on Cardin, a blur rushed by. The Beowolf stopped in its tracks before suddenly splitting right in two. Cardin looked down at the remains of the Grim which began dissolving. What the… what in the world just happened?

"What are you runts doing here?" They all turned and saw a silver haired man with a Scythe slung over his shoulder. Cardin recognized him as the drunk who'd gotten in that street fight a while ago. "The cities a wreck you know. You should be heading towards one of the shelters." He said turning to leave. "Get out of here, while you still can."

Cardin watched as he started walking off. That guy… that guy had completely split that Grim in half. There wasn't a moment of hesitation. How could he be so… calm? "Wait!" Cardin yelled.

The man stopped and turned towards him. "What is it kid? I got things to do right now if you haven't noticed. I'm not sticking around to babysit you lot."

"How?" Cardin asked the rest of his team looked at him confused. "How can… how can you go out there? How can you not be afraid? There's monsters out there. People are dying. The city is getting torn down, so how can you be so…"

The man raised an eyebrow. "What? What makes you think I'm not afraid kid?" He asked scowling. "I have two nieces who are god knows where, some kind of giant Grim is raining down hell on the city, and a some heavy crap you couldn't even imagine is going down behind the scenes. We might be facing some end of the world level stuff here." He explained. "I'm terrified."

Cardin paled. "S-so why are you going out there?!"

The man scoffed. "Why? Cause it's my job idiot." He said slinging his weapon over his shoulder. "The life of a Hunter puts you face to face with death on a daily basis. And it doesn't get easier no manner how many times you pull through. You don't get over it. You only get used to it." He explained.

"But I go out there and risk my life because it's what I signed up for. If you're not ready to take it on, then you best find another living." He said walking out. "I'm not telling you to go out and fight. It's not like I could blame you for running. You runts look young. You got your whole lives ahead of you, and I'd hate for you to waste them now. But you better brace up and accept what a Hunter's life really is."

Cardin watched as he walked back outside. His words kept ringing in his head. He balled his fist up. He was still afraid. He could end up dead. No different than those bodies out on the street.

But then again, so could all the other Hunters out there. What right did he have to sit and hide while they were fighting for their lives? If he was ever going to call himself a proper Hunter, he needed to get out there and fight. "Boss, should we find a new hiding spot?" Sky asked.

Cardin let out a deep breath before glaring. "No."

"So… what do we do?"

Cardin slung his mace over his shoulder. "We do our jobs."

Glynda flicked her wrist, and dozens of Grim went flying. She was starting to get annoyed. Just how many of these creatures would she have to destroy tonight? "Heads up!" The blonde ducked just as Qrow sped by and slashed down a line of Ursa. He landed and slid a few feet before standing up and slicking his hair back. "Hope I'm not late."

"You are, as usual." Glynda said shooting away another wave of Grim. "But better late than never I suppose."

Qrow smirked and spun his Scythe around before slashing down a Griffin. "By the way, I brought a couple of your students along."

Glynda looked at him curiously. Most of the more skilled students had headed towards the arena. Who else had he come across? "YYAAAHHHH!"

She turned and looked just in time to see Russel come flipping by. He swung his daggers cutting down a few beowolf's before extending his feet and knocking back an alpha.

Before she could question why he was here, she heard another battle cry. Sky ran through a line of Grim and Military drones, his Halberd spinning so fast it was little more than a blur. Any and everything that got near him was being chopped into bits.

She then noticed Dove running by, swinging a flaming sword. He slashed off a Griffin's wings before cutting off its head. Then he pointed the blade and fired a blast of ice dust, freezing another in midair and sending it crashing to the ground.

A loud roar went off, and she turned and saw an Ursa Major making its way around the corner. She lifted her wand and prepared to attack, but suddenly saw Cardin rushing at it. "Mr. Winchester!" She called worriedly.

Cardin gritted his teeth before swinging his mace as hard as he could. The Ursa Major barely had time to notice him as the weapons slammed into its side. "Not this time!" He shouted pressing the button on the hilt of his mace.

The fire crystal in the middle went off, and the upper half of the Ursa's body was blown clean off. Cardin watched as the lower half fell onto its knees and began vanishing.

Glynda looked at the scene in shock. Not just at the display of power, but by the fact that it was team CRDL. She never liked to doubt her students, and while she always thought they had the _potential_ to become great, she never thought they'd display it here of all places.

Cardin turned around and smirked. "Sorry for the wait Teach." He said as the rest of his team gather behind him. "Need any help?"

Glynda looked at them wide eyed. She nearly pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. She shook her head. Shocked as she may be, she didn't have time for this. "As a matter of fact, I do. I want you to scout this area for civilians. Take them to the nearest shelter, and cut down any threats in your way."

Cardin nodded. "You heard her boys! Let's move out!" With that, team CRDL turned and began moving through the area, slaying as many enemies as they could.

Glynda shook her head. "Unbelievable…"

Qrow chuckled. "I found them hiding in a bookstore. The big guy was practically pissing his pants. But I guess all he needed was a swift kick in the ass to get going." He explained. "You got some half decent students this time around Glynda."

"I suppose we do." Glynda said smiling.

* * *

 **A/N: Just a quick one shot about team CRDL. Cardin was actually out there fighting, so I figured he deserves some props. I don't know why I like these guys, maybe it's their design or something, but I want to see more of them in the show. Maybe in the next Vol. when the other teams head back to their home kingdoms... if they head back.**

 **Anyway, hope you like it.**


	2. What A Thrush

**A/N: Yeah, another chapter! I know this was supposed to be a one shot, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to write something for the others too. So there's going to be one chapter for each of them, and a final one that wraps things up. They won't be too long. Just short moments highlighting the members of CRDL.**

* * *

Russel leaned against the wall and struggled to catch his breath. This sucked. Why had his team thought it'd be a good idea to split up? Sure they were covering more ground, but they didn't have any way of contacting each other if something went wrong. Was Cardin that confident that they could handle themselves, or did he just not care. Either way, he was nervous.

He'd taken out a few Grim so far, but tried to avoid the larger ones. His best attribute was his speed. He was very quick, but he didn't pack much of a punch. Taking down something like an Ursa Major or an Alpha was something he wasn't sure he could pull off. Yeah, he may have charged out with Cardin earlier, but that was when he had his team backing him.

On his own, he didn't think he could do much damage. So for now he'd lay low, catch his breath, and try to find some citizens who needed guiding back to the safe zone.

"AAHHH!"

His eyes widened and he looked around the corner. He saw a girl. She had long curly strawberry blonde hair that went down to her waste, blue eyes, and freckles over her cheeks. Behind her was a large Alpha, who was obviously out for blood. "Someone help me! Please!" She cried desperately.

Russel felt his body stiffen. If he didn't act, that girl was done for. But if he did then chances were he'd be the one getting torn to shred.

"Help me!"

They didn't really expect him to risk his life did they? It was like that old guy said back there, they were young. They had their whole lives ahead of them.

"AAAHHHH!"

He couldn't do anything. He'd be killed, and it would go right back after her. What was the point in adding himself to the body count?

"NO!"

He turned and saw the girl had fallen. The Alpha stood over her and raised one of its claw into the air. The girl screamed out as Russel began sweating. What was he supposed to do? Act and get killed. What would that accomplish? He shut his eyes. No, he didn't want to end up as just another name on some memorial. He wanted to live.

The Alpha swung its claw down and was surprised when it hit nothing but asphalt. It looked down and growled before staring over at the two figures on the side walk. Russel stood a few feet away, carrying the girl in his arms. The girl had just seemed to realize that she was still alive and opened her eyes.

She looked up at Russel who had a look of terror on his face. What in the hell was wrong with him? Why had he moved just now? He'd planned on staying around the corner, but for some reason he was here. "Crap, crap, crap…" He muttered.

"Y-you saved me…" The girl said amazed. She then felt his arms trembling. "A-are you okay?"

He shook his head. "Nope…" He said setting her down. She looked at him worriedly. He pulled out his daggers and got into his fighting stance. Well, he was here now. He might as well try to look a little cool before his death. "J-just stay behind me. I'll protect you." What a joke. He couldn't even protect himself, let alone her.

The girl nodded and Russel rushed forward. The Alpha roared and rushed back at him. It swung one large at him, but he ducked and rolled forward. He slashed its legs as he rolled behind it. It grunted and turned around, swinging once more. He jumped up and spun in the air, nimbly avoiding the attack and slashing its arm.

He landed and quickly charged his daggers with fire dust. He swung both blades sending an X shaped slash at the beast. It hit it square in the chest and sent it stumbling back. "HYAH!" He jumped forward and started spinning, passing by and slashing on of its arms off. Russel landed a few feet behind it and smirked.

This thing looked so much faster when others were fighting it, but it was pretty slow up close. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he thought. As if punishing him for daring to challenge his place in the universe, the Alpha hit him with its reaming arm. He went flying back and crashed into the wall beside the girl.

She gasped as he grabbed his stomach and groaned. That was a bit hit. His aura had protected him, but it had drained a lot. He couldn't afford another hit like that. He hard another scream and opened his eyes to see the Alpha once again going for the girl. He scowled. Did this thing think he was dead already? He knew he wasn't the strongest, but thinking he went down with one hit was a little insulting.

The Alpha swung at the girl, but was stopped by both of Russel's daggers. While he couldn't stop it, he did managed to push it to the side. "I'm not dead yet you bastard!" He shouted before charging his daggers with more dust. "Get back!" He shouted. The girl was frozen for a moment, but then turned and ran back.

Russel gulped. The last time he tried this, it didn't exactly work out. But he was desperate. One dagger with fire, and one with lightening. "Try this on for size!" He yelled. He jumped up and slashed it across the chest, and the two dust mixing together caused an explosion.

The Grim was blown to pieces, and Russel went flying back once more. He crashed into the ground and bounced a few times. After a few seconds, he let out a groan on pain. His aura had once again protected him, but he was pretty sure he was in the red at this point. Fire and Lightening dust didn't mix well, but it left one hell of an impact.

"Oh my Oum, can you stand?" He looked up and saw the girl standing over him.

He sat up and tried to ignore the aching pain over his body. "I-I'm fine." He said giving a weak smile. It was weak, but genuine. He was alive, which was more than he expected, so he couldn't really complain. "Are you alright?" He asked.

She nodded. "Thanks to you. Thank you. I owe you my life."

Russel felt his face heat up the moment he saw her smiling at him. He looked away and laughed nervously. "Y-yeah, well it was nothing! It's just my job as a hunter, you know! I'm just happy I could help!" He said rubbing the back of his head. "A-anyway, you should probably head to the safe zone. It's really dangerous around here."

The girl frowned. "Will you take me there? I'm not sure I'd be able to make it by myself." She said sadly. Russel couldn't believe that she could look even cuter. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be a burden to you, but-"

"No! It's fine!" He said stepping forward. "I'll take you there. Like I said, it's my job as a Hunter and stuff. Just leave it to me." He said sticking his chest out.

She smiled and nodded, and he began heading towards the safe zone. He thought about staying there once he dropped her off, but… no, he'd head back out and regroup with his team.

Being brave was scary, but it had it's benefits.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, there you go. Hope you enjoyed it. Next up is Dove... I have no idea what I'm going to do with him. I already have something planned out for Lark and Cardin, but I get a blank for Dove. Weird... Oh well, I'll think of something!**


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